Saved By The Dashing Hero
by Daelena
Summary: While in pursuit of a time-hopping alien, Jack and Ianto come across a younger version of Ianto. Something bad happens and Jack must comfort Ianto. Ianto/Jack. Forty-eight in the "Immortal Janto" series.
1. Chapter 1

Saved by the Dashing Hero 

Jack's Perspective

_Disclaimer__: There is absolutely no owning on my part._

_Summary__: While in pursuit of a time-hopping alien, Jack and Ianto come across a younger version of Ianto. Something bad happens and Jack must comfort Ianto. Ianto/Jack. Forty-eight in the "Immortal Janto" series._

_This idea came from a suggestion by __**thunderincrimson**__. Like "Quizzical Meetings," it's a chance for Jack and Ianto to meet and interact with a younger Ianto._

_Don't forget to check out Jorkins' website, dedicated to Ianto Jones. The link is posted in my profile._

_Okay, that's enough of my talking. Onwards and forwards to the story!_

Their feet slapped against the wet pavement as they raced through the streets of Newport, Wales. Jack kept his hands firmly on his Webley, eyes on the retreating back of the alien that they were chasing.

The alien in question was a purple and humanoid, though it looked a lot like a hammerhead shark. Worse, he had a laser blaster and was happily shooting at people as he went.

The Doctor had been tracing the alien as he gleefully hopped backwards in time. Said alien had gotten his hands on a faulty Vortex Manipulator and had found his way to Earth, eventually landing in Wales, heading towards Cardiff. Using the residual energy of the Rift, he had started hopping back in time, causing panic and mayhem as he went. Jack only prayed that no one got hurt as a result.

It was by a small stroke of luck (and foresight by Donna and Ianto) that they had avoided running into Torchwood as they started backwards in time, through the first decade of the twenty-first century and the very end of the last decade of the twentieth century. A quick, curt contact via a letter from the Doctor had prevented past-Jack and Torchwood from getting involved. Jack did not want Alex getting his hand on any technology that the Doctor deemed too dangerous to be handled by Torchwood – even Torchwood Three.

Ianto was trailing him by a step as they rounded a corner. As they did, the alien came into their sights and Jack felt his stomach clench.

He would recognize Ianto anywhere and anywhen – even in 1999, at the age of sixteen. The young Welshman was wide-eyed at the sight of something that he didn't see every day. From behind him, Jack heard his Ianto gasp in surprise.

Everything happened in slow motion.

Jack saw the purple alien raise his blaster, aimed directly at the younger Ianto. A scream caught in Jack's throat as a bright streak of light shot from the weapon. Young Ianto gave a surprised yell as he turned enough to miss the full force of the weapon, though it caught him in the ribs, causing him to tumble to the ground, his bags of groceries spilling out around him, the brown paper bags ripping. A shout of pain shot through the air.

Instinctively, Jack was at his side, catching him as he fell, cradling the younger man, sinking to the ground carefully, so that the young Ianto was resting in his lap.

Under normal circumstances, he would have loved this. However, the blood seeping from the young Ianto's side was not comforting.

He looked up to his Ianto and saw the stormy look in his eyes – the look he knew too well. Wordlessly, he tossed his husband his Webley. Ianto caught it deftly. The older Ianto tore off after the alien, hell-bent on bringing him down.

Meanwhile, Jack held the young Ianto.

Familiar blue eyes stared up at him. Jack never liked seeing Ianto in pain and this was horrible.

"Who – are you?" the young Welshman asked, wincing.

A thousand thoughts fluttered across Jack's mind – friend, colleague, boss, lover, husband, father of his daughter, immortal, dashingly handsome and heroic. Okay, the last one was solely reserved for Ianto's older self and would have made said older self roll his eyes at Jack.

Jack gave young Ianto a smile, not the full-blown charming and flirtatious one, but the comforting and caring one. "Someone who's worried about you." Ianto winced again and Jack looked at his side, carefully moving his hand. There was blood, but they were lucky that the wound wasn't that deep or very serious. Still, it required medical attention, though the Doctor and the TARDIS could have him patched up in no time at all. He managed to press a button on his Vortex Manipulator, covertly from the eyes of the young Ianto, and send a pre-recorded SOS message back to the TARDIS. Hopefully, help would arrive in a matter of minutes "Until help gets here, keep pressure on that wound of yours." Tears unexpectedly pricked at the edges of his eyes. "Can't lose you yet."

He was glad to see Ianto comply.

A part of Jack saw the painful irony of holding a wounded Ianto in his lap. Ten years from now, in this Ianto's personal timeline, they would be in London and Jack would be holding Ianto again – only Ianto would die then and leave Jack alone for years, until he returned to his life in one quiet moment.

Sadness washed over Jack and he banished that thought from his mind.

"What was that thing?"

A shiver went up Jack's spine. Ianto's Welsh vowels were always more pronounced when he was in pain and the younger Ianto's accent was so strong. Something inside of Jack twitched and he had to squash his urges in favor of talking to Ianto for two reasons – one, he didn't want to scar the young man, and two, talking would keep him alert and awake.

Plus Jack couldn't lie to Ianto, not after all these years and not even to a younger Ianto.

"It was an alien from the future."

"What?"

Jack smiled. "I won't go into the semantics of the how and the why, but that's an alien – a purple alien with a busted Vortex Manipulator and a child-like obsession with causing mayhem."

"Oh." There was a pause and Jack could see Ianto trying to fight the urge to roll his eyes. "I take it that your friend's going after the alien then." Jack nodded in affirmative. "Is he any good at catching aliens."

Oh Ianto, he thought, smiling to himself. There were very few times that Jack knew that he could surprise Ianto and this was one of them – even if the Ianto in question was a much younger version of the one that Jack had with him at all times.

"I would say so," Jack replied. "He's been doing it for a while."

"That's good." Young Ianto winced a bit – some combination of pain and something else, something that made Jack worry.

"What's wrong?" he asked, concern clenching his voice.

Eyes flicked around and Ianto replied, in a weak voice, "Oh dear, Mam wanted those groceries for dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow. She's not going to be happy about that."

"I think she'll forgive you."

Ordinarily, Jack would have thought that Ianto's concern was endearing and adorable – ordinarily. But Ianto was starting to get faint on Jack, starting to succumb to unconsciousness. He tightened his hold on the young man.

"Hey, hey, you listen to me, Jones, Ianto Jones," Jack said, aware that he called Ianto by his name (and Ianto was aware of that fact too, since his eyes snapped open in surprise). "You have to stay awake right now. I know you'd rather pass out, but you have to stay awake for me."

"And why is that?"

Jack leaned forward and stroked Ianto's hair gently, admiring the curls. "Because I like those beautiful eyes of yours."

"How do you know my name?"

Ah, there was the out-of-the-blue comment that he could trust from Ianto.

And, luckily for everyone involved, footsteps approached them. Jack looked up to see the older Ianto approaching, Jack's Webley in hand and a less hell-driven expression on his face. He didn't need to ask where the alien's body was. More than likely, the Torchwood of the time had already been alerted.

Still, the look on Ianto's face was a mix of surprise and anticipation – and something else that Jack couldn't quite read.

Fortunately, Jack was given further reason not to answer the young Ianto's question because the familiar klaxons of the TARDIS rang through the air, cutting off further conversations. Moments later, the Doctor and Donna burst from the TARDIS, looks of concern on their faces. Jack shifted his arms and scooped the younger Ianto up, cradling him gently, carrying him into the TARDIS, the older Ianto trailing behind him, careful not to touch his past self, as not to cause a temporal paradox or other negative temporal effect.

Jack was in full worry mode as the TARDIS reached out to heal young Ianto, golden energy surrounding the young Welshman, who he laid out, with great care, on the couch.

When the light subsided, Jack breathed a sigh of relief. Ianto looked well and whole, though he saw the long scar on his side, crossing over his ribs.

Tentatively, Jack walked over and knelt down by the couch. He felt his husband behind him, looking over his shoulder. Years of being together had given him a second sense of where his beloved Welshman was at all times.

He saw the way the young Ianto looked over his shoulder at his older self, realization setting in as twin sets of eyes met one another.

"You're – you're," young Ianto sputtered.

"I'm you," Ianto confirmed, nodding, "or the you who is from a far distant future and if you don't believe me, then this should convince you."

With that, he unbuttoned his waistcoat and lifted his shirt high enough to reveal the long, a delicate scar along his ribs, one that was the twin of the fresh one on the ribs of the young Ianto. Jack looked between the two, appreciating the fact that, until now, he had only known of the scar from all the times that he had explored Ianto's body. It was a pity that Ianto never explained where he got said scar – it made sense now, though.

"I don't understand how you're here then, if you're from the future."

Jack smiled and patted young Ianto on the hand, barely suppressing the urge to weave their fingers together. "You will, one day, Yan." The disapproving snort from the young Ianto was so worth the pet name. "It was hairy there for a minute, but you'll be fine."

"Where am I?" the young Ianto asked.

Older Ianto was chuckling. "No questions, Ianto, or else Rhi and Gavin will find out that you're stashing the porn in the third floorboard from the closet in your room."

Porn? Jack was intrigued.

Young Ianto gulped. "How did you know about that?"

"I know everything."

Younger Ianto yawned and Jack saw his eyes drooping shut. Looking back to the Doctor, he saw the nod of approval from the Time Lord. Comfort filled Jack. This was a good sleep then, one that the TARDIS was inducing, if only to complete her healing and to put something of a memory block on the younger version of Ianto.

They only had a matter of moments now before young Ianto was asleep.

Cupping the young man's cheek, Jack tilted Ianto's face to him and gently pressed a kiss against his forehead. Blue eyes were wide when he then placed a butterfly-soft kiss on Ianto's lips. A blush crept across the younger Ianto's cheeks as his eyes fluttered shut and he fell asleep.

"Sleep well, love," Jack whispered, leaning back from the couch. He felt his Ianto's arm wrap around his waist.

"Thank you," Ianto whispered.

He turned and looked at Ianto.

"What happened?"

For a moment, Ianto considered his younger self before he explained. "When I was sixteen years old, I ended up in the hospital as being attacked on the way home from the store. I never really remembered what happened, except that I felt safe and warm and loved. I was out for thirty-six hour."

There was more that Ianto wasn't telling him, but Jack knew better than to push that issue at the moment.

As they moved away from the couch, he reached for Ianto and pulled up his shirt to reveal the scar again. He brushed his fingers against it and watched as Ianto shivered at the touch.

"Have I mentioned that I love that scar?"

Ianto's laugh was encouraging.

_Okay, that's the end of this side of the story. I'm going to do the story from the perspective of the younger Ianto – because it would be so much fun!  
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_Anyway, you know what to do. Reviews are love and I love reviews!_

_Remember to check out Jorkins' website!_


	2. Chapter 2

Saved by the Dashing Hero

Young Ianto's Perspective

_Disclaimer__: No owning on my part._

_Yep, here it is, the side as told from Ianto's perspective. I couldn't resist doing it from Ianto's side, because you all know you wanted to see this._

_Like I said earlier, go check out Jorkins' website. The link has been posted in my profile. Check it out and become a member! The more, the merrier._

It was a chilly, rainy evening and all Ianto wanted to do was to get home with the groceries. His Mam had asked him to go out and pick up what she needed for dinner and he, being the kind son that he was, had been happy to oblige her. But, now that he was actually out here, all he really wanted to do was get home, where it was warm and dry.

Faintly, he heard the tell-tale sounds of footsteps coming from around the corner.

A noise of surprise escaped his lips as a purple – thing? – came running around the corner, a wild look in its eyes. Two figures rounded the corner behind it. Briefly, Ianto glanced at them, wondering why two men, one in an RAF World War II greatcoat and the other in a three piece suit, were chasing a purple thing through the streets of Newport. His attention was taken away from them as the purple thing raised something that he thought belonged in a sci-fi movie and pointed it at him. A bright laser shot from it and Ianto instinctively turned, dropping his groceries in the process.

Sharp pain shot through his side and he cried out, dropping to the ground.

The man in the greatcoat caught him and lowered him to the ground, gently. Through his pain, Ianto saw a look of concern on his face, his hand going to Ianto's wounded side, in an attempt to stymie the blood flow from his injury. Ianto winced in pain. The man looked up to his companion and something passed between them.

Seconds later, the man had pulled out a gun – a Webley, Ianto noticed – and threw it to his companion, who turned and dashed after the thing that they had been chasing before. A cold feeling filled Ianto's stomach, something different from the pain he felt.

That man who just left seemed so familiar to him.

But he was kept from thinking about it by a fresh batch of sharp pain. He felt the arms around him tighten some and Ianto looked at the man who was holding him.

He was handsome – as in, movie-star handsome with dark hair, stunning blue eyes, a sharp jaw that was to die for. Ianto thought that he was very attractive, which made his stomach twist in an unfamiliar and excited way. He had never been so attracted to anyone before in his life – man or woman.

"Who – are you?" he asked, wincing a bit at the pain in his side.

The man smiled at him. It was a charming smile and something in Ianto told him that the man did not smile this smile a lot, that it was reserved for only a certain number of people. It made his heart do a little flip-flip.

"Someone who cares about you," the man replied gently. That was nice, Ianto mused, though his attention was diverted by his injury. The man shifted again, very briefly, and Ianto felt him pressed something on his leather wristband and then pressed his hand back onto Ianto's wound. "Until help gets here, keep pressure on that wound of yours." Tears filled his eyes and that had Ianto worried. "Can't lose you yet."

Ianto nodded and pressed his hand onto of the man's hand.

The man's greatcoat fluttered around them. His lap was very warm and very comfortable.

"What was that thing?" he asked, keenly aware of the fact that his native accent was thicker than it normally was, but the man seemed to appreciate said accent. Regardless, Ianto was sometimes embarrassed that his accent got thicker at the most unexpected times.

"It was an alien from the future."

"What?"

So it _was _an alien, not a thing.

The man smiled some at his question. "I won't go into the semantics of the how and the why, but that's an alien – a purple alien with a busted Vortex Manipulator and a child-like obsession with causing mayhem."

"Oh." It took everything in him to keep from eye-rolling at that comment. In any other situation, such a concept would have been very amusing to Ianto. "I take it that your friend's going after the alien, then." The man nodded in affirmative. Some emotion in the man's eyes told Ianto that the man was truly confident in his friend – or something more than a friend, if Ianto's instincts told him otherwise. However, Ianto had to ask him one honest question, "Is he any good at catching aliens?"

A little smile crossed his companion's face.

"I would say so," the man told Ianto, in a confident and surprisingly loving tone. "He's been doing it for years."

To Ianto, that was very reassuring.

"That's good," he told the man, before wincing – not from pain, but he cast a look around and a thought crossed his mind. His stomach dropped in true concern as he saw the groceries that had been unceremoniously scattered across the ground, where he had dropped them in his true fright of the alien – the alien who had injured him.

"What's wrong?"

There was concern – and something that sounded akin to fear – resting in the man's voice and it sounded very genuine. For a moment, his voice and that careful emotion made Ianto forget that he was injured and in pain.

"Oh dear, Mam wanted those groceries for dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow. She's not going to be happy about that."

The man gave him a weak smile, though a bit indulgently. "I think she'll forgive you."

Something in the man's tone soothed Ianto, something that made Ianto think that his Mam wouldn't worry about the fact that he had lost all of the groceries, whens she had expressly told him to go the store and bring it back home as quickly as he could.

The dark edges of unconsciousness tugged at his eyes. Ianto felt himself succumbing to it, but he was shaken back into full awareness by the man. He saw fear and concern in his eyes.

"Hey, hey, you listen to me, Jones, Ianto Jones," the man sharply said, his tone indicative of his fear. Ianto's eyes opened wide in his surprise. The man knew his name. How? How could he possibly know that? "You have to stay awake right now. I know you'd rather pass out, but you have to stay awake for me."

"And why is that?"

He leaned forward and stroked Ianto's hair gently and with great tenderness, his fingers through the curls that Ianto had worked so hard to tame and to hide. "Because I like those beautiful eyes of yours."

"How do you know my name?"

The man struggled with how to respond to his question, but he was saved from answering as footsteps approached.

Ianto saw the man's companion approach, Webley in hand, a look on his face that was both grim and surprised and something else. He got a brief look at the man. Ianto was taken aback by the gray streaks in his hair and the impeccably tailored suit that he wore. Who wore a suit – especially an impeccably tailored, three piece suit – when chasing an alien? And was that a waistcoat that he was wearing?

But before Ianto could look closer, strange klaxons filled the air.

A blue police box faded into existence not too far away from, catching Ianto by surprise. The two men looked at it, both not very surprised about its sudden appearance. The door opened and two people – a man with unruly brown hair and a red-haired woman – burst from inside. Ianto saw something beyond it that _should n_ot have existed. The police box looked like it was bigger on the inside.

The man scooped him up in his arms, cradling him gently. Ianto didn't fight his tight embrace. The look on his face made him realize that he could not fight the man's intention. Instead, he curled some into the man's arms, pressing his face against the man's shoulder.

Into the strange police box, Ianto was carried.

Honestly, he wasn't surprised that it was bigger on the inside. This was a very strange evening and, to be perfectly honest, Ianto didn't think that he should believe that it wasn't just a strange dream that he was having.

Warmth reached out to touch Ianto as he was laid down on a couch that seemed very out of place in the very odd room, though it was a very odd room in and of itself, with a tall coral pillar reaching up from a center control panel to a ceiling that was high above them. But, to Ianto, it felt very comforting, like he belonged here. This weird police box wanted him here, he believed, and it was welcoming him.

Golden energy swarmed around him and, when it subsided, Ianto touched his side. His wound was healed! He felt a long scar through the remains of his shirt.

The man knelt down beside him, his knees on the metal grating of the floor, concern still in his eyes. His companion walked up behind him and Ianto got his first good look at him.

His eyes widened in total surprise as he recognized the man. It was him!

How could this possibly be happening?

"You're – you're" he sputtered, not quite able to form a coherent thought or sentence.

"I'm you," the older version of himself confirmed, giving him a little nod, "or the you who is from a far distant future and if you don't believe me, then this should convince you."

With that, the older Ianto unbuttoned his waistcoat and lifted his shirt high enough to reveal the long, a delicate scar along his ribs, one that was the twin of the brand new one that now crossed Ianto's ribs.

"I don't understand how you're here then, if you're from the future."

The blue-eyed man smiled and put his hand on Ianto's. "You will, one day, Yan." Ianto hated that pet name and the man must have known that. Oh, Ianto understood some more now. This man, whoever he was, was important to his future self, though Ianto got the feeling that it was more than just friendship between the two. "It was hairy there for a minute, but you'll be fine."

"Where am I?" he asked.

Ianto saw his older self laugh.

"No questions, Ianto, or else Rhi and Gavin will find out that you're stashing the porn in the third floorboard from the closet in your room."

Oh, he _was _good.

Ianto gulped. "How did you know about that?"

"I know everything."

He yawned and his eyes drooped down. Ianto was so tired, but he guessed (hopefully, rightfully so) that this was a healthy sleep, one that he would not be woken up from.

Even as he drifted off to sleep, he felt a hand reach out and cupped his cheek. The man tilted Ianto's face to him. Leaning down, he kissed Ianto on the forehead. His eyes went wide in surprise at the gentle gesture. The man then placed a butterfly-soft kiss on Ianto's lips. It was a truly sweet sign that caused a bright blush to creep across his cheeks, even as his eyes fluttered shut.

"Sleep well, love," the handsome stranger whispered to Ianto, the last words that he heard before he fell into sleep.

Ianto didn't dream any and, when he woke, he was lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to a multitude of machines. Confusion filled his mind, as he tried to recall really what had happened to him. Was it all a dream? The purple alien? The handsome man with the blue eyes and the greatcoat? His future self?

It was all very fuzzy. He didn't know what had been real from what had been a product of his mere imagination.

The doctors would later tell him that he had been attacked – by whom, no one was able to ascertain – on his way from the store. He had been knocked unconscious during this attack. No one could tell him how he got that scar on his side and Ianto had enough sense to keep from saying that it was an alien from the future.

He was kept in the hospital for two days for observation and, when he was released, Ianto was sure to move his porn collection from its current hiding spot, in the event that, one day, Gavin and Rhi found it. Rebecca wouldn't hold it over his head, but the other two would have been more reprimanding if they found out about it. Something in his gut told him that he shouldn't keep it in the same place.

Years later, when a pterodactyl got him a job at Torchwood Three, Ianto found that falling for one Captain Jack Harkness was very easy. After all, hadn't that just been a dream about a dashing, blue-eyed man who had held him when he had been injured?

_Well, that's that. Let me know what you think. As always, reviews are love and I appreciate them. They make me happy and give me further inspiration to write._

_As always, I will get the next installment of the "Immortal Janto" series up as soon as I can (and as soon as the muse decides to like me)._


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